The Only Exception
by WishingDreamer5
Summary: When a handsome Galbadian soldier known as Laguna Loire washes up on a beach near Winhill, Raine decides to take the critically wounded man in to nurse him back to health. However, this doesn't go without any problems and misunderstandings from both sides. Will poor Raine be able to survive all the chaos that a certain brunet man causes, without killing him? Only time can tell...
1. Monster in the Tummy

**A/N: This will be a short Laguna/Raine drabble collection that will only consist of five chapters. I'll probably try to update this twice a week, or maybe every day if I have enough time. Enjoy. :)**

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Laguna was awake, but he didn't want to open his eyes just yet. He actually didn't think he could have done that if he'd wanted to, but that was beside the point.

Every inch of his body hurt in such a way that it made him think he'd broken every bone…or at least the half of them. How or why, he wasn't too sure. But this place – wherever this place was – smelled so…_nice_. Of flowers and warmth and candles and…food. Delicious food if he had to believe his sense of smell. Well, that was something that he hadn't had since he'd stopped living with his mother.

Man, his mother could cook the most amazing meals in only twenty minutes. It was crazy, really, and he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it happen countless times. Too bad that he hadn't inherited that part of her…

As if on cue, his stomach let out a long, whiny growl that resembled a lion's proud roar and he heard laughter coming from somewhere next to him.

At once, the brunet man opened his eyes, turned his head slightly to the right and saw a little girl who couldn't possibly be older than four. Her short brown hair was glossy and she wore a blue dress that made her look like a little angel in his eyes.

"Hello there," he started and he winked at her, making her giggle.

"Wassat a monster in your tummy, or are you hungry?"

Laguna couldn't help but smile at her question. He sat up slightly, leaning against his elbows, and questioned quasi-solemnly, "I don't know. But there is a way we could find out…"

The girl's eyes widened considerably as she stepped closer to the stranger on the couch. "How?"

"By eating a cookie. If it's a monster, then he won't like the cookie and he will start tickling you. But if I'm hungry, you'll just get a hug, okay?"

She grinned brightly at that and nodded. With that, she turned around and sprinted away as fast as her little legs could carry her, probably to the kitchen.


	2. Luck Strikes Again

**A/N: Enjoy. :)**

**Thanks: Guest.**

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Of course, call it Laguna's luck to throw Ellone's ball a little too hard at her, so that she can't catch it and makes it bounce off in the wrong direction. And of course something in the living room just _had_ to break because of that. Someone up there really had to hate his guts.

"Uh-oh..."

This couldn't possibly be good; from what he could tell from the limited amount of time that he'd spent in this cozy house, the item that he had broken to pieces was most likely Raine's favorite statue. This was going to cost him his head for sure...

Maybe he could fix it before she could see the damage-

"Oh my _Hyne_!"

_Okay, too late for that now..._

He gulped, turning around slowly to face her. Funny how a seasoned soldier like him was scared of a woman like her. Then again, this wasn't "just" a woman; Raine could probably kill the whole army by merely glaring at them. They should use her as their secret weapon against their enemies. It would be very effective indeed...

"Laguna Frederik Loire, how many times have I told Ellone_ in front of you_ that she's not allowed to play with the ball inside the house? And yet, you ignore my warning and do the exact opposite?! What is _wrong_ with- Ugh, never mind already. I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

With that, the woman left the room angrily.

Laguna sighed sadly. "And that's not even my name... Guess I really messed up this time, didn't I?"

The brunette toddler walked over to him to give him a big hug. "It's okay, Uncle Laguna."

_Easy for you to say_, he thought. _You're the only one she doesn't yell at constantly..._


	3. Laguna's Superb Cooking Skills

**A/N: This is a continuation of the previous chapter. Hope you enjoy. :)**

**Thanks: Bebedora.**

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"Okay, and now...we wait," Laguna muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"Annow...we wait," Ellone mimicked him, making him smile.

Everything had to be perfect this time, otherwise he'd never be able to make it up to Raine for breaking her favorite statue. But darn it, his mother always made it seem so easy when she'd been standing in the kitchen, baking and cooking like she'd been doing this all her life...

At that moment, the phone in the other room rang and he rushed out of the kitchen to take it, seeing as Raine wasn't at home at the moment. It was probably another wine supplier, or something.

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Roughly ten minutes later, the front door opened and Raine stepped inside, her grocery bags in her hands. When she reached the kitchen, however, she let out a loud gasp and dropped the bags at the horrendous sight. The whole kitchen, the very same one that she had cleaned up before leaving the house, was a _big mess_. She was pretty sure that the fire alarm had gone off, too.

"Oh, uhm...this was supposed to be a surprise. It's not finished yet," Laguna started lamely when he spotted her.

The brunette woman slowly started approaching him to take a look at the pan on the stove. The food, or whatever it was in the pan, was turned black and didn't look edible at all. An awkward silence set between the two adults and Laguna was almost wondering if he should just run away and never look back.

"Were you trying to _poison_ me?" Raine then asked rather coolly, glaring at him in a way that made him regret every single decision that he'd taken in his life.

Quite honestly, he was supposed to be used to getting that look by now, because as dramatic as it may sound, sometimes he felt as though even his way of _breathing_ could upset Raine somehow.

"No! Of course not, but uh, the phone rang when I was in the middle of this and then I sort of forgot that the pan was still on the stove and…" His voice faltered.

She looked at him evenly before saying carefully, "At least the house isn't burned down...yet. Which surprises me, to be honest."

Raine bit her lower lip. She was trying oh so hard to keep her her face expressionless, she really was, but she could already feel that she was going to lose that battle in a couple of seconds. Laguna just had that effect on her. The corners of her mouth turned up in the tiniest of grins and she cursed the man who was doing this to her. How could she ever stay mad at someone who looked at her like a lost, kicked puppy?

"You're really like a child sometimes, you know that?" He looked at her in such an adorably confused way that she could no longer hold her laughter. "That look on your face, _priceless_!"

Apparently, Laguna could be as funny as he could be clumsy. That had become more than apparent every time he tried to help her with chores. Still, she didn't have the heart to send him away now, or get mad at him. And he was trying to get better at least. For her, that counted as something.


	4. Lucky Guy

**A/N: ****Thanks: Bebedora.**

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"Laguna."

As soon as he heard her say his name in that special kind of way, Laguna knew that he'd done something wrong again. He automatically looked up from the book that he was currently reading at the mention of his name, and he had to wince as soon as he saw what was wrong. Raine was holding her once white dress that had now turned red, not so miraculously.

_Uh-oh..._

Apparently, Laguna had sort of forgotten to separate the white clothing items from the bright ones when he'd done the laundry, which had resulted into..._that_. Chances were that that was her favorite dress too. Just great.

"…Oops," was all the man said, because what else could he say, really?

There was nothing he could do to change it back to the way it was. He just hoped to Hyne that she wouldn't kill him off for this one.

She stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head and letting out a long-suffering sigh. "Laguna, what do I do with you? I thought you said that you knew how this worked?"

"Oh…" he started. "Well, the thing is that I… didn't…really… I'm dead meat, huh?"

"More or less," was the ominous response that made him gulp. "You've got ten seconds to get out of my face. One… seven… eight…"

Laguna's eyes widened at once and he made a dash to the front door.

When he was gone and she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, Raine sighed once again and slowly ran a hand over her flawless face. "Oh Hyne, please give me the strength to go on with my life without murdering that man."


	5. Sleep Well

**A/N: Short chapter is short, but I've decided to add two more drabbles to this. :)**

**Thanks: Bebedora, and shealakiah.**

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"Laguna, do you know where the-"

Raine stopped talking as soon as she encountered the most endearing sight that she had ever seen. Laguna had fallen asleep on the comfortable couch while reading a story to the sleeping Ellone. The book had slid out of his hands and was now balancing on his knee and the couch. He had his arm draped around the little girl's small form, who had snuggled closer to the man, using him as a pillow.

Despite everything, Raine couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight. They both looked so innocent and sweet. Those two had become inseparable.

The brunette woman quietly took a blanket from the other room, before returning to the livingroom. Carefully, she set the book aside, before draping the blanket around them.


	6. Something New?

Deep inside, Laguna actually knew that he was pretty much _doomed_ as soon as Raine stood in front of him and asked if he noticed something new or different about her. He was never going to guess it right, was he? To be honest, Laguna knew that all along from the very beginning. Still, that didn't stop him from being brave and trying.

"You're…" His eyes travelled to the cream-colored blouse she was wearing. "Wearing a new shirt?"

Raine blinked a couple of times, then visibly facepalmed at his answer, making him slump back in his seat.

"So I can take that as a 'no'?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why do I even bother… And no, this is the same shirt that you bought for me last time we went shopping."

"Oh…" Laguna scratched the back of his head. "Well, aren't you going to tell me what's it then?"

"No," she replied with an indignant huff, while turning and leaving again.

He shook his head. "Women..."


	7. Stay

**A/N: Yay, the last chapter! Thanks for all who read and/or reviewed. :)**

**Thanks: Bebedora.**

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It was very late in the night when Raine finally had found some time for herself. She had brought Ellone to bed hours ago (much to her dislike, because she'd wanted to play more games with 'Uncle Laguna'), but not before her favorite uncle had told her a nice bedtime story.

Those two were honestly inseparable and it did have something endearing. Ellone loved spending time with Laguna and she seemed to bring out the child inside him...which was both annoying and sweet, depending on the mood Raine was in at that very moment.

Now, the brunette woman was stargazing outside, alone. The sky looked truly beautiful tonight and she wished quietly that she could marvel at the stars more often. It was such a shame that she didn't have enough time to look up and just enjoy the beautiful sight of the starry sky. She sighed, putting her arms around her in a feeble attempt to get a little warmer; it had become rather chilly. That was when she suddenly heard footsteps and she didn't have to look to know that it was Laguna. Nobody's footsteps sounded as heavy as his.

At first, he was silent as if waiting for the right moment to speak, but then… "I'm aware that it's probably not the right time to ask, but..." He took a deep breath, before continuing, "Can I please stay here with you guys? I know that you have your reasons to say no and quite frankly, I don't blame you, because you're right and I've made a big mess the past days, but… _Awh_!"

He quickly bent over and grabbed his leg, grimacing from the pain.

Raine let out a startled gasp and turned to look at him, not sure what to do. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Leg…cramp," he explained with a rather pained expression.

She blinked at his words, briefly wondering if he was just kidding. Judging from the look on his face, however, he most certainly wasn't.

"Oh… Can I do something?" she offered politely.

"No… It'll be over in a minute."

"Okay…" Still unsure if she should just stand there and watch him struggle or leave him to his fate, she continued, "As for your question, you can stay…if you want to, and as long as you behave more."

Laguna's eyes widened at that. "Deal!" He jumped up at that and gave her a bear hug before she could prepare herself for it. Soon enough, he realized what he was doing and he let go of her. "Oh, uhm… Sorry for that… I'm just very happy."

She quietly brushed her hair out of her eyes, in the hopes of hiding her blush with her erratic motions. "It's… alright. It's late, though. I should probably head to bed."

She abruptly turned and headed inside, leaving a very happy Laguna with his thoughts. Little did she know that the next day, she would already regret this decision. But tomorrow was still so far away…


End file.
